House Of The Setting Sun
by Audio Pineapple
Summary: When Jin dies, everybody expects Michael to comfort Sun. But he doesn't know if he can cope with being so close to her. Chapter Three Added. Season Two AU
1. Chapter 1

**Time-Line Setting: **Sometime after Collision but before The Hunting Party

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters. I am not affiliated in any way, shape or form with anyone who does.

It had been over eight hours since she last moved. She had been transfixed by the ocean ever since Jack had spoken to her, a sympathetic hand upon her shoulder, his tone lowered, even though everyone already knew what had happened. She had run from the caves to the beach and had sunk down into the sand. She hadn't even cried, she had just frozen.

Everyone was avoiding her, walking behind her, trying to avoid eye contact. They were scared that if she saw them, she would break down. They all knew that she was in shock, but they didn't want her to come out of it. When she did, she would have to cope. It seemed fairer to just let her sit in silence.

They hadn't buried the body. It didn't seem right to do it without her, Sayid had been the one who said that she would need to say goodbye, and everyone had listened to him. He had lost Shannon only the week before.

Michael walked towards Jack who was kneeling in the sand, rummaging through a suitcase. Michael's eyes flickered to the blue sheet that laid upon his friend Jin and he lowered himself to Jack's level.

"What are you doing?"

"We can't leave her like this. She needs to snap out of it, eat something, drink something. She's already in shock, we don't need her dehydrated as well," he looked at Michael and realised that he hadn't answered the question, he sighed heavily, "I'm looking for some anti-depressants."

"But she's not depressed."

"He was her husband Michael, she will be when she comes around." Jack stopped rummaging and pulled out a small orange beaker, half-filled with small white tablets. He read the label, his eyes scrunched in concentration. "This should do." He zipped the suitcase shut and hoisted himself up. Michael followed and their eyes met, confused. The place where Sun had been sitting was empty.

Michael scanned the beach until he saw her long black hair flying loosely in the wind from behind a rock. Without pausing to inform Jack, Michael walked over to her.

She was on her knees at the edge of the water, trailing her fingers through the calm waves as the tears rolled gently down her cheeks. She looked up as Michael approached and he found himself looking away, unable to bring himself to focus on the pain sprawled across her delicate features.

"Jack said that he was fishing?" The pain in her voice made him glance back to her. Their eyes locked together.

"Yeah," Michael wasn't sure what else to say to her. It had been that morning, when he was idly playing with Vincent, bored and desperate to find Walt when he had heard Jin shouting. He had run down to the other edge of the beach to see Jin tangled in his net, away from the shore, struggling to get above the water. By the time he had got there, Jack and Sawyer had already dived in and were swimming to reach him. By the time they managed, Jin had been under the water, failing to resurface for a couple of minutes. Between themselves, they managed to drag him ashore but it was obvious that they had failed. His body was limp and cold, his eyes closed and his mouth open, still filled with water. His frantic screaming was still rebounding around Michael's head, especially because, with Sun's assistance, he had learned how to call for help in English.

"He always fished. I don't understand."

She looked away from Michael, back to the ocean. He had to hold back a sigh of relief. He hadn't been able to make eye contact with her for much longer, every second that passed when she looked at him was another second where he had to force himself to keep his hands by his sides, where he had to force himself not to reach out to her, embrace her in his arms, stroke her hair, feel her face…

He scolded himself internally, he had suffered from these feelings when Jin was alive but it repulsed him that he was still considering letting her know how he felt. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jack striding up the beach and felt relieved for the distraction. "I have to go," he muttered as he walked away, forcing himself not to look back at her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters. I am not affiliated in any way, shape or form with anyone who does.

**A/N: **Next part should hopefully be up within the week, possibly sooner.

Jack sat down next to Sun uncomfortably. He could almost taste the pain that was emanating from her. She was still staring straight ahead, but then she closed her eyes and took a deep intact of breath. When she let it out, it was shaky, as though she was holding back her tears again.

"I have something that might help you," Jack showed her the bottle of pills and she glanced to them before looking away again.

"What are they?"

"Nothing, they're just some mild sedatives." Sun remained silent, giving no acknowledgement that she had heard Jack. "I think they might help."

"Help with what?"

"Getting over…"

She turned to face Jack, her voice cracking, "help me get over Jin? He was my husband Jack, I loved him. I don't want to forget him!"

"They won't make you forget him. They'll just… ease the pain a bit."

"I don't want the pain to go away. As long as its there, it means that I still love him."

Jack sighed, he didn't know how to convince her that she needed to move on. He placed the bottle in the sand next to her and stood up, "well, they're there if you change your mind. Instructions are on the bottle."

He walked back up the beach, passing Michael who had been pottering around a tent aimlessly.

Michael gazed at Sun. He hadn't heard what she had said to Jack but he had looked annoyed when he had left. He could see the bottle of pills lying next to her and assumed that she had refused to take them. He felt a small amount of pride well up inside him that she hadn't been bullied into it.

He rummaged through his suitcase for another minute, feeling a pang of guilt and anger every time he saw one of Walt's items. He still hadn't found him, there hadn't been any word of him since the raft had exploded. He glanced from the items to Sun and back again. She was fiddling with her wedding ring and he suddenly felt connected with her. They were going through similar situations. Although he didn't want to talk about Walt he couldn't ignore that she might want to talk about Jin.

He walked over and sat down next to her, being ignored.

"What's wrong?" He berated himself internally the moment he said it, it had just been a reflex he had learned to say when people looked upset.

"Nothing."

Michael sat with Sun in silence for a minute, racking his brain to come up with something to start a conversation with her, so he didn't look like he had imposed himself upon her. In the end he settled for, "what's wrong" again.

"Nothing."

"Did Jack say something to you about Jin?"

She didn't move a muscle while she spoke, "he said that I had to move on. That grieving is okay but I can't keep doing it."

Michael felt anger flash through him. Jack obviously had no idea what it was like to grieve for someone. He tentatively laid a hand on her shoulder and she still didn't look at him, but smiled a little. "You don't have to stop. With Walt, holding onto his memory is all that's keeping me from lying on the sand and never moving again. That and the hope of finding him again…" He realised that he must have sounded harsh saying that he could still have Walt back, but she didn't seem to pick up on it.

"It must be hard for you."

"Yeah, it is. You know, you don't have to force yourself to feel better. When you need to you will."

"Thank you Michael. I think I want to sit here and watch the ocean for a while. It helps me to think."

Michael took his hand off her shoulder, standing up. He felt a mixture of happiness and sadness. On the one hand, he had got Sun to realise that she didn't have to stop thinking about Jin, but on the other hand, she still didn't want to open up to anyone about it. He had walked a few steps before he heard her.

"Michael, wait!" He looked back and saw that she was staring at him, "you can sit here as well if you want."

Michael went and sat back down. And for what seemed like an eternity all he did was stare at the ocean and think of Sun and Walt.


	3. Chapter 3

Eventually Sun began to yawn. Michael looked at her, her eyelids were drooping and her breath was becoming shallow.

"You have to move, getting some sleep will help."

"I think I will sleep here."

Michael shook his head, "tide will come in, you'll drown" he hadn't realised what he had said until he had said it, and now it was too late to take it back. It seemed to work though, Sun stood up, swaying slightly after sitting for so long. Michael stood up as well, gently holding onto her arm to support her fragile frame as he guided her back to the tent she had shared with Jin.

Sun laid down, "thank you Michael," she appeared to fall asleep instantly and Michael walked out. Despite wanting to stay with her he was hungry and thirsty.

He walked down the beach, nodding politely to the people who gave him enquiring glances. He came to the bottles of water and saw Sayid was there.

"When can we bury him?" Sayid's voice had taken on a scratched, broken quality to it, the sorrow and longing for Shannon as visible in the sound as they were in the circles under his eyes or the newly acquired gauntness of his face.

Michael sipped some water, feeling relief as it soothed his throat. "I don't know, possibly tonight. She's sleeping that the moment."

Sayid nodded, "it is good she is able to do that. How is she coping?"

"Not very well, but she shouldn't be coping yet."

Sayid stood up, "if he is to be buried tonight I will start to dig the grave."

Sayid started to walk away and Michael found himself remembering how he had dug one for Shannon. "Don't man. You don't need to, other people can do it."

"No, I may as well."

Sayid walked off, leaving Michael alone. For a moment he almost fell asleep himself but then he heard someone nearby. Turning, he saw that it was Jack. The dreamy sleep-like state was replaced with boiling anger as he marched over to him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Getting some water?"

"You had no right to talk to her like that!"

Jack just looked confused and exasperated, "what are you talking about Michael?"

"Sun, you told her she should stop grieving Jin. He was her husband Jack!"

"I am aware of that! And she's twisted my words. I said that the pills would help her with getting over him. She can't grieve forever, the island is a dangerous place and she needs to be able to take care of herself."

"He only died this morning! You don't care…"

Jack's face fell into a scowl as he snapped, "I do care Michael! But I have to be pragmatic because, otherwise, bad things could happen. And then the people whoa re sitting around mourning and sleeping will be the ones to blame."

Michael moved closer to Jack, fighting the urge to punch him. "I don't want you to be at his funeral."

"That isn't your decision."

"I'm making it my decision, you'll upset her."

"Fine," Jack practically spat the word as he stormed away.


End file.
